Get you house on the market right away. If you fall in love with one go ahead and put a contingency contract on it if you can afford the house payment you might have to pay before you sell yours. Having a contingency contract on you selling your house can buy you time with no payments until you sell and you can't loose your dream home. If they get another offer you will have to firm up on the offer and take off the contingency contract but it buys you time with out payments. Offer your house listing for 7% and you will get all the lookers in that area as all agents love a better payout for selling someone house! It will sell a lot faster! Need any help E me or call me at 636-373-4381 - buy1realestate@aol.com Rob Benson at PSP Search all home with my website!

Fri May 9 2008, 13:07

ok ok ok. Sell first-- that is pretty clear. It is the finer points of the strategy that you need to pay attention to and work to your advantage. You will achieve incredible leverage by having your home either sold or under contract as you move to buy your next home. In this buyer's market, timing becomes difficult if you are trying to get out of one house and into another simultaneously. Your negotiating power increases dramatically once the first house is sold-- translation-- you will save tens of thousands of dollars-- or more. The key to this complicated dance is picking the right realtor who is persuasive, experienced, hard working and a world class negotiator-- so, make your own good luck.

Mon Nov 19 2007, 19:13

I agree with the advice you've gotten from other agents about which to do first...sell, or buy. You need to look at your financial situation, the market pattern and your ability to sell quickly. If you sell first and haven't found the home you want to buy you can always rent for the short term. If you buy another home you might be stuck with two payments or be forced into a bridge loan that could stretch longer than you like. When you put your house on the market to sell you can might consider building in a time frame for closing (like the end of a school year, or after spring break). Your REALTOR or loan officer can run the numbers for you on house payments to give you a better overall picture of your exposure. Good luck.
Trisha Lee, REMAX Boone Realty, Columbia, MO

Mon Nov 19 2007, 18:31

It depends on your particular situation. Can you afford 2 mortgages at the same time? Do you have enough equity in your current home to do a bridge loan to pay the second home's mortgage until you sell? For some, the answer to those questions will be yes, but for other's it will be no. Some sellers will accept a contingency offer (based on the sale and closing of your current home) but as noted earlier, they will want to see that your home is on the market, really prepared to sell and priced correctly. If it's not, they typically won't accept your offer and even if they do, there will be a kick-out clause that will let them terminate your contract if another contract comes in or they just get tired of waiting for you to sell.

What most people should do, is determine a correct price range that they want to buy in and do some initial research on types of homes available at that price point in the area that they want to buy in, but becareful not to fall in love with a home. At the same time, talk with a Realtor and realistically fix up your home so that it has the "WOW" factor and is priced correctly so it will sell as quickly as possible when it comes on the market. Make sure to visit your competition's homes and then make sure that you beat them out when it comes to looks, condition and price if you want a quick sale.

Sun Nov 18 2007, 08:26

Old question, but for the benefit of those wondering about that today:
Unless a homeowner can buy without selling and carry two houses indefinitely--sell first.

Wed Nov 14 2007, 13:39

Karen, you've received some good advice. I would also caution that if you intend to purchase a home with a contingency to sell your current home, any seller is going to want to see that it is on the market and priced well. So, you will definitely want to get yours on the market before making an offer, or have it ready to go within days. Price your home to sell- that's the most important thing right now, especially as we head into holidays.... Feel free to call on me if I can be of assistance.
Jennifer Wilton
Leo Lawrence Real Estate
314-651-3210 cell
636-561-4422 office

Wed Nov 14 2007, 12:33

Karen -
I'd definitely sell before I'd buy. Florissant and Missouri in general are slow enough you might get hung if you try to do a bridge loan to tide you over between homes. Although we're not experiencing the long days on market they're having in other parts of the country we're still slower than the last few years.

If you have found the house of your dreams, try writing a contract with a contingency clause indicating you must sell your existing home before closing on the new home. If your seller hasn't had any other offers and can afford to wait (not moving out of the market) they might accept that contract. Contact your real estate professional to explain the safeguards that can be written into a contract to assure you get your earnest money back.

With a contingency of this sort, don't be suprised if the seller asks for more earnest money.

Tue Oct 2 2007, 11:23

Karen,

In this market, buying before you sell is a BAD idea. Homes are on the market a lot longer than they were, buyers are holding tight, inventory is high and prices are coming down. Unless you are willing to make two mortgage payments, dont lock yourself into this new home. Get your home on the market. Price it right and make sure it is staged perfectly. Keep an eye on the other home, but it is better to loose one home than to loose two because you could not make the payments. Once you find a buyer for yours, you have a lot more negotiating power on the new one. What is the worst thing that could happen... you loose the new home? There will be another one and you might like it even more. Good luck!

Wed Aug 22 2007, 12:26

Hi Karen,

I really think it varies considering the difference in market conditions around the country. In Houston where I work, I would always suggest to my Seller that they sell their home first. Otherwise its like watching/waiting for water to boil. A home that is priced right, located in a prime location, has been staged and shows like a model, smells good and looks loved should not stay on the market long. That being said, I discuss with clients what the worst case scenario would be if we were to receive an offer immediately and they want you out in two weeks. Is it worth losing the sale? NO WAY... Is it worth moving the family into uncomfortable temporary accommodations for a little whie? YES... Why, because sometimes the first offer is the best offer...

In Texas we also have what is called a Seller's Temporary Lease Back: this option s negotiable, but the document would get attached to the contract and would allow you, the Seller, to stay in the home as the Tenant beyond closing for a negotiable rental amount and specific number of days, up to 60. Typically it is used for short 3-7 day terms. My suggestion however would be to leave the property and use the leaseback as a back up option if no other agreement or level of comfort can be found.

If you are one of the fortunate few who can afford two mortgage payments then I say start house hunting! Ask your REALTOR to give you an honest opinion as to whether the home you are trying to sell would show well unfurnished. Most homes sell better furnished.

Fri Jul 13 2007, 10:10

Kimberly is right, unless you don't need the money from the sale of your home to buy the new one. Writing contingent offers weakens your negotiating position, so you want to avoid that, if possible. If you can afford two mortgages at once and don't have a problem doing that for a while, you can look at new homes while yours is for sale.

If you look at new homes before your current home is sold, you will probably drive yourself crazy. There are many situations where I have seen sellers go shopping, fall in love with a new place, and by the time they can write an offer on it, it has been sold to someone else. Then, you'll spend your time trying to recreate that "perfect" house that you couldn't purchase. Good luck!

Fri Jul 13 2007, 09:49

This one is easy because I have seen so many disasters. Unless you are doing a contingent contract, SELL FIRST! I wouldn't even look at another house until you had a contract in hand.

Fri Jul 13 2007, 09:21

Hi Karen!
I actually lived in a small town just southwest of Cape Girardeau, Missouri and frequented the St. Louis area quite a bit.

You are posing a great question because you are facing what every home buyer does... which part is the horse and which part is the cart.

The best advise is to speak to an agent (imagine that!). Truly though - there's that ol' marketing word again - how is the state of your market? Do you have a home in an area that is experiencing a slow down, or the opposite - are you getting alot of movement from the St. Louis area commuters?

Hopefully you will get a good answer from an agent close to you or - if not - contact friends, neighbors, or colleagues. I'm sure they can point you to a great agent familiar with your area and market.

NOW - heres the important part - try to abstain from looking too hard before you know the answers to these questions. Know what you are up against first.

I have seen so many broken hearts because someone finds the home they just have to have -- and they lose it because they can't sell their current home. Or worse yet, they take on the home of their dreams and end up with two mortgages....

Whatever the situation - do your homework - then happy hunting to you!

Fri Jul 13 2007, 09:19

Dear Karen,

I believe it is vitally important, if at all possible, to sell your current home before you identify and write an offer up on a new one. There are several reasons behind this statement.

1) If you write a contingency offer on a home (an offer subject to your home selling) odds are that you will be hard pressed to negotiate much at all off the current price. The sellers will know that there is a chance that your home will not sell in time and they will be reluctant to take the home off the market, or show it with the notation that it has a contingency on it, without an extremely motivating price being attached to it.

2) Being under pressure to sell your home to fulfill the contingency might cause you to get less for your current home. Imagine, an offer comes in on your current home, several thousand dollars under the list price. Attempts at negotiating it to a better price have repeatedly failed. You face taking this offer and getting the home you've fallen in love with, or turning it down, and potentially losing that home. Also, as you get closer to the date of closing on the new home you will have increased pressure to decrease the price in the first place.

3) You will be faced with doing inspections, and potentially an appraisal, on a home that you might not be able to purchase. In the state of Texas we have to give a period of time that the buyer will waive the contingency if another offer comes in on the property. You may have done your inspections and appraisal, costing hundreds of dollars when another offer comes in. You must at this time either waive the contingency, which means two mortgages for a time (if the bank will qualify you), or taking out a bridge loan, or losing that money on a home that you don't get.

That being said, there are some cases where a contingency might work better. If you can't keep the house that you're in extremely tidy during the showing process, or you are in a market where homes fly off the market extremely fast (caveat to this is that the sellers are less inclined even then to take your offer) there might be a possibility to make it work. Think long and hard about this option and consult a good local Realtor!

Good luck whichever way you go!!!

Chris Tesch
RE/MAX Bryan-College Station
526 University Drive
Suite 101B
College Station, TX 77840
(979)574-1084
www.ChrisTesch.com
Chris@ChrisTesch.com

Fri Jul 13 2007, 09:05

If there are a lot of homes on the market in your area, and sales are moving slowly, consider selling first. If sales are moving slow in your area, you could find yourself carrying a double mortgage for longer than you anticipated if you were to buy before selling.

As soon as you list your house for sale with a Realtor, you will get feedback from the Broker community and the marketplace. You can start searching to buy at the same time. You need not wait until you have you have a contract on your home. You can always write an offer to buy a home that is contingent upon you selling your existing property. Having your property actively on the market will help you represent yourself as a serious buyer when you make an offer that includes a contingency. In the event you find a home you love, but that seller will not take a contract with a contingency you will have had some ability to gage the markets response to your home since it is already listed.

In the event you find a buyer for your home before you find a place to buy, you can work with your buyers for an extended period of time before closing.

If you are in a marketplace that is a sellers' market, with fewer properties for sale than buyers available, then I would recommend you buy first. Since more geographic areas are in a buyers market, my initial response was predicated on that assumption for your area.

Fri Jul 13 2007, 08:57

Hello Karen,

Fantastic question and one I get a lot. As a seller you always want to be in the drivers seat. If you put your home on the market before you have found your new home, there are many advantages.
One, since it is rare now a days for a home to sell immediately when you put it on the market, unless you underprice it, you can start to feel out the market at a price that isn't giving it away. Two, when you find a purchaser for your home, it will be at the price you want and you won't feel rushed to take a lower one. Your options at that point are to either put an extended closing date on the sale of your home for you to find your new home, or the safest route is to put a reverse contigency on the sale of your home. This is basically saying to the purchaser "we will sell you our home, but you as the purchaser are giving us X ? amount of days to find a new one." While you are shopping for this new one, you now also have advantages. One, you are no longer a contingent buyer. This means that the price you negotiate for that new home may be lower then if you were coming in contingent and two, since you will already have a pre-approval in your hand and a contract of sale on your home, you are as good as a cash buyer. All of this takes stratigic planning and a well cooridinated Realtor, so ask specific questions on how they will handle this when you are looking for one! Hope this helps.

Nancy Kenlon
Century 21 Gold Standard
Western, NY
716-864-4509

Fri Jul 13 2007, 08:44

A good real estate agent will help you walk the tight rope. The timing can be tough with a purchase of a new property and sale of an existing property. I don't know the specifics of your situation, but I would generally advise against buying if you are going to take on an additional mortgage or have to take out a bridge loan.

Fri Jul 13 2007, 08:23